WASHINGTON - GENERAL Motors Corp said on Thursday it has hired legal advisers and was considering 'all options', but warned bankruptcy was not a 'viable solution' for the struggling US auto giant.

'The GM board of directors has discussed bankruptcy, but when it has done so has not concluded that it was a viable solution to the company's liquidity problems,' the company said in a statement.

'The board is meeting frequently and monitoring the situation very closely and is committed to considering all options - as is management - and has engaged appropriate advisors for all contingencies.'

GM, the largest US automaker, has appealed for lawmakers to provide billions of dollars in temporary, taxpayer-funded loans, citing severe damage to revenues due to the credit squeeze and market downturn.

A version of a 14-billion dollar (S$20.8 billion) bailout bill passed the US House of Representatives this week but faced fierce opposition by Senate Republicans.

GM reiterated its position that 'the company's liquidity issues stem from current financial and credit market conditions and would only be exacerbated by the likely effect of a bankruptcy on customer sales,' it said.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that people familiar with the matter acknowledged that the carmaker had decided in the 'last few weeks to hire the outside advisers'.

The paper described the hirings as having 'both a practical and political bent', as any such move by GM would be 'one of the largest and most controversial filings in US history'.

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner 'still believes the company can't and shouldn't file' for bankruptcy, the newspaper said, citing its sources. -- AFP